Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) Stock Price Up 4.8% – Time to Buy?

Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP)’s stock price traded up 4.8% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $27.56 and last traded at $27.51. 1,073,569 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 35% from the average session volume of 1,650,215 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.25.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on HP. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Helmerich & Payne from $41.00 to $35.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays lowered their price target on Helmerich & Payne from $36.00 to $24.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “in-line” rating and issued a $39.00 price objective (down from $48.00) on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Citigroup raised Helmerich & Payne from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $33.00 to $40.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $37.25.

Helmerich & Payne Stock Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average price of $31.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $32.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 2.81 and a quick ratio of 2.52. The company has a market capitalization of $2.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.09, a PEG ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.37.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The oil and gas company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.02. Helmerich & Payne had a net margin of 11.02% and a return on equity of 11.31%. Equities analysts forecast that Helmerich & Payne, Inc. will post 2.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Helmerich & Payne Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Helmerich & Payne’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO John W. Lindsay acquired 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $27.55 per share, for a total transaction of $551,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 691,214 shares in the company, valued at $19,042,945.70. The trade was a 2.98 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Belgacem Chariag bought 37,356 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $27.08 per share, for a total transaction of $1,011,600.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 54,606 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,478,730.48. This trade represents a 216.56 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 4.51% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Helmerich & Payne by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 10,113 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $324,000 after purchasing an additional 395 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in Helmerich & Payne by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 21,763 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $697,000 after buying an additional 408 shares in the last quarter. Napatree Capital LLC grew its holdings in Helmerich & Payne by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Napatree Capital LLC now owns 20,847 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $668,000 after buying an additional 511 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its position in Helmerich & Payne by 20.3% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,130 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $95,000 after buying an additional 529 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in Helmerich & Payne by 76.9% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,479 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 643 shares in the last quarter. 96.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Helmerich & Payne

Founded in 1920, Helmerich & Payne, Inc (H&P) (NYSE: HP) is committed to delivering industry leading levels of drilling productivity and reliability. H&P operates with the highest level of integrity, safety and innovation to deliver superior results for its customers and returns for shareholders.